TheSkiffView
ONE YEAR
We’ve emerged a stronger people

A year ago today America learned a tough lesson on terrorism. As a country, we learned that it isn’t something that just happens somewhere else. Today, we know it’s not something that will go away either.

In the past year we’ve come to reevaluate many of our priorities. We don’t complain about having to remove our belts at the security check in the airport anymore, and we definitely tell our families we love them more often.

We are fortunate that everyone still talks about terrorism because it will continue to affect our lives.

But for 3,031 people, Sept. 11 was their last day alive. We should remember them in our own personal ways, while still being aware of some who were directly affected and are still in the middle of tragedy. By remembering them today, our goal should be to allow ourselves to find closure and move forward.

Although the day remains vivid in some minds, most of us will be forced to remember by watching or reading the news, which is filled with Sept. 11-related news coverage.

Remember that reflecting on the tragedy is important, but reliving the events isn’t necessary.

Prove that we’ve learned something in a year, and choose to spend the time with your friends and family instead of channel-surfing through all the television programming devoted to the one year anniversary.

We’ve shown that Americans can deal with this tragedy by picking up where we left off before the terrorist attack occurred. We shouldn’t clutter our lives with fears of the possible threats that could still exist. Our lives are undoubtedly fuller now with the things that really matter.

We should also prove to ourselves that we’ve learned how to tolerate Islam, a religion that most of us hopefully know a little more about. We can hope too that we have realized discriminating against Muslims in the United States- who were made to feel fearful of even leaving their homes a year ago is not the American way. Don’t forget all these life lessons, because it was only a year ago today when we learned that we aren’t promised a tomorrow.